Single-member Districts Off Ballot

June 17, 1987|By Ramsey Campbell of The Sentinel Staff

TAVARES — Lake County commissioners on Tuesday reversed an earlier decision to conduct a second election on single-member districts next March.

Commissioner Glenn Burhans, who last month was the swing vote in calling for a new referendum, was again the key as commissioners voted 3 to 2 against a motion that would have authorized the wording on the ballot for the referendum.

County Attorney Chris Ford said the referendum couldn't be held without commission approval of the ballot.

''You have to have a resolution passed to get it on the ballot,'' he said. Burhans' change of heart clearly dismayed Chairman Tom Windram and Commissioner Claude Smoak Jr., who lead the effort to get a second referendum. ''We voted to put in on the ballot,'' said Windram. ''I thought it was all resolved.''

Burhans said he wasn't just opposing the referendum's wording, but the idea of putting it on the ballot again. He said he hadn't understood originally that Ford had recommended against the second referendum on single-member districts.

He also said he thought voters had made it clear they favored single- member districts in the initial referendum last November.

Last month, Burhans indicated he was opposed to a second referendum but changed his mind at the last minute and joined Windram and Smoak in calling for a second vote on the issue.

Voters in November approved switching from an at-large election system to single-member districts by 20,820 votes to 12,879.

Under the county's at-large system, commissioners live in individual districts but were voted on by all county residents. With single-member district elections, only voters in a district can vote in a district election. Opponents of single-member districts say it would take away the voice voters have on four-fifths of the commission. However, proponents say it would give voters a greater say in selecting their district commissioner and would broaden representation.

Opponents still may call for a second referendum by conducting a petition drive. They would need about 6,500 signatures of local registered voters to force a new election on the issue.

Commissioners favoring the second ballot on the issue say voters didn't realize the significance of a switch to single-member districts.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the local Democratic Party pushed for last year's referendum on single-member district elections for the commission, which has been controlled by Republicans for the past 20 years.

Virtually all the commissioners oppose single-member districts, but Ford last month advised the commission to accept the initial referendum. He cautioned that a second referendum orchestrated by the commission could be subject to a legal challenge.

Richard Seron, Democratic state committeeman, said he was happy with the commission's decision to back off on the second referendum.